The International Accounting Standards Board proposed temporary measures to address worries over conflicts between a standard that has been issued, and another that isn’t due for a year.
The concerns center around challenges that might arise in the implementation of IFRS 9, Financial Instruments, which was issued last year and is due to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2018, and a new insurance contracts standard which is currently being deliberated and isn’t expected to be issued until 2018.
The proposed measures would amend IFRS 4, Insurance Contracts, to allow insurance companies the option to defer implementing IFRS 9 until 2021, and would allow those who do implement IFRS 9 the option to remove from profit or loss some of the accounting mismatches and temporary volatility that could occur before the new insurance contracts standard is implemented.
Even if confirmed, the measures would not affect companies that do not issue insurance contracts.
An exposure draft on the measures will be published later this year.
